


The Long Road Back

by Jules1980



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-05-05 17:11:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14623323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jules1980/pseuds/Jules1980
Summary: Re-opening Cobra Kai and training the new Cobras gave Johnny a new lease on life and he realized that he needed to change and be a better man.  But was it too late to save the things he valued most in his life?





	1. Things Aren't Always What They Appear on the Surface.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I just wondered how the show would be if Johnny was married too. This story started from that plot bunny. 
> 
> A/N: I own nothing. Also, I've only seen the original and Cobra Kai, so things that happened in Part 2 and 3 won't be in this fic unless shown in Cobra Kai. Also, I tried to keep this Teen rated, but if you think I need to make it mature, just let me know.

Kayla Lawrence blinked against the sunlight streaming through her bedroom blinds. She looked at her phone. 5 pm. She had to work in two hours. She got to her feet and stumbled to the shower. She groaned as the hot water hit her sore muscles. She was too old to still be doing this shit. This wasn't where she thought her life would be by now. She got out of the shower, thinking she would cook dinner before Johnny got home from work. Then she remembered the night before and the worst fight they'd had in a long time. Johnny lost his job. So where had he gone this morning? She just sighed and looked in the mirror. She tentatively touched her eye. It looked even worse than it had the night before if that was possible. She slipped her uniform on and went to the kitchen to find some ice.

 Johnny was still gone. Well, judging by the number of beer cans and bottles scattered around, he had been home and left again. She filled an ice pack and held it against her eye with one hand while she started pulling out ingredients for dinner. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. She desperately wanted to call into work and go back to bed but she couldn't. Child support and rent were due Friday. If Johnny had been fired then there was no chance that Mike was going to pay him even for yesterday. Mike didn't always pay him on time when he hadn't been fired.

Kayla didn't know why she stayed with Johnny anymore. All they did was fight. Or just ignored each other. There was no in-between lately. She couldn't remember the last time they'd even slept in the bed together. She did remember the last time they'd fooled around. Not that that was any better since it had been New Year's and now it was August. She was so touched out by the time she got home from work, she often didn't mind that he usually too drunk to even get it up by then, but she did miss just sleeping with him.

 It hadn't always been like this. When they'd first gotten together, he'd been attentive and even kind.

 She'd known him for as long as she could remember. Johnny had been her brother, Bobby's, best friend growing up. She'd had the biggest crush on him when she was in junior high and had taken every innocent touch and glance in her direction as proof that he loved her too and they were meant to be together. However, being four years older than her, Johnny never saw her as anything more than Bobby's kid sister back then. Johnny had to have known that she was head over heels for him. Bobby teased her about it mercilessly. When he'd start up around Johnny, Johnny would have the good manners to look embarrassed for a moment before winking at Kayla, then punching Bobby and demanding he shut up. Then there was the time she broke up with her first boyfriend and he'd gotten revenge by telling the whole school that she'd let him go to third base on their first date. That jerk was even waving around a pair of lace panties he claimed were hers. That was until all the Cobra Kais had surrounded him in study hall and demanded that he tell them what had happened on their date. He'd stammered out that she hadn't so much as kissed him while being ping-ponged back and forth between Bobby and Johnny. Then Johnny had forced him to apologize to her while Bobby was literally twisting his arm behind his back. That little display had backfired on her though, as no other guy would even talk to her for the next two years much less ask her out. It wasn't until all those Cobra Kais had graduated that someone got brave enough to ask her out again. Johnny and Bobby had graduated that summer and Johnny's mother died. After that, the families had lost touch until Kayla was twenty-two.

 That was the year that a drunk in an SUV had t-boned Bobby on his motorcycle and her laughing, teasing, protective older brother had left this world. It was at Bobby's wake. Kayla had been doing her part, standing by her mother and father, behind Bobby's fiancee, trying her best not to break down as she smiled, shook hands, and accepted hugs and words of comfort from friends and strangers alike. Dutch, Tommy, and a few other Cobra Kais had come by, all grown up now, most with families of their own, but not Johnny. Finally, she'd managed to escape for a few minutes, finding a secluded spot outside the funeral home to have a cigarette. She broke down in tears at the loss of her brother and protector. She was a sobbing mess when she heard his voice as soft as butter and smooth as silk.

 "Kayla?" he'd said.

 She looked over her shoulder, then quickly dropped the cigarette and tried to wipe her eyes and plaster on her 'hostess' smile as she turned to face him, only as hard as she tried, she couldn't stop the sobs that tore from her throat.

 "Shh.., it's okay," he'd said, closing the distance between them and pulling her into his arms. "I know. I'm going to miss him too." His own voice was broken and unsteady. When she looked up at him, she saw his eyes were red-rimmed and his cheeks tear-streaked too. She slid her arms around his waist and clung to him as he continued to hold her and whisper words of comfort in that broken voice.

 Three hours later, they were still clinging to each other, only then, it was in her bed.

 "I have a boyfriend," she'd confessed when he'd kissed her the first time.

 "So?" he replied, brushing his lips against her neck. "Where is he?"

 "Berkeley. He...he didn't want to come down for this. He didn't think that a 'big emotional scene' was the time for my family to meet him," she said, repeating what Crispin had told her when she'd called him.

 "He's an asshole," Johnny replied.

 "He's not, it's just.., he's not into emotional scenes," she tried to reach for an excuse.

 "His girlfriend's brother died and he's worried about people being emotional? He's a pussy," Johnny replied, but he pulled away, putting some space between them and looking her in the eyes. "Do you want me to go?"

 "No," she said. "I don't want to be alone."

 "Neither do I," he admitted. "Tell you what. We'll stay together tonight and whatever happens, happens. Just two friends, seeking comfort in each other. No strings, no guilt. If you tell me to get lost, I will and this night never happened. If you just want to lay here together and not be alone, then that's okay too."

 "Kiss me," she found herself agreeing and reaching for him. He wasn't her first, but he was the first to make her realize why sex was supposed to be fun.

 "Do you want me to stop?" he whispered in the darkness.

 "No," she said, sliding her legs up around him. "Don't you dare stop."

 He'd moaned her name when he came. "Don't let me go," he breathed, as he collapsed against her.

 "Never." She promised, kissing his forehead as he turned them so they were laying on their sides.

 She guessed that why she still stayed. She was still holding him. After everything they'd been through and done to each other, she still couldn't let him go.

 She turned off the stove, put the ice pack back in the fridge and went to the bathroom to finish getting ready for work.

 "Kay?" Johnny called out, opening the door to the apartment. "I'm home."

 "Getting ready for work," she called back.

 A few minutes later, he opened the bathroom door.

 "Damn, Baby," he said, looking at her reflection in the mirror. He crossed the space between them and took her face in his hands, angling her eye toward the light. "Damn."

 


	2. Chapter 2

"No wonder the whole building thinks I beat the shit out of you yesterday," Johnny said, examining her eye closely. "That's going to hurt for a while." He kissed her forehead then let her go. "What happened?"

"We were trying to get a combative patient down and I zigged when I should have zagged and caught an elbow to the eye," she shrugged. "I should have never underestimated the strength of a fifteen-year-old girl on an acid trip."

"That's bullshit," he said.

"Part of the job," she shrugged. Kayla was a nurse in a psych unit.

"It's still bullshit that you can't defend yourself," he replied.

"She didn't know what she was doing," Kayla tried to explain.

"You should quit that job," he said.

"Because both of us being out of work would be a good thing," she quipped. "I prefer not to be homeless and there isn't a whole lot of jobs for LPN's anymore. Hospitals want RN so it's this or working for some jerk like Sid and I'd rather get hit than do that."

"Whatever," he said, dismissively. "Let's eat."

"Where were you this morning?" she asked as they ate.

"Um..., I was in jail," he admitted.

"You were in jail," she repeated incredulously.

He shrugged. "No big deal. The charges got dropped."

"Do I even want to know what the charges were?"

"That new kid next door," he explained. "I saw him getting jumped by four guys twice his size and I stopped them."

"You got into a fight with a bunch of kids?!"

"No," he said, exasperated. "I stopped a bunch of assholes from whaling on a kid half their size. It was just a misunderstanding. Why do you think the charges were dropped? Sid came by and bailed me out. The court called a few hours later and said my story checked out with the witnesses' so they were dropping the charges. Four on one isn't a fair fight no matter how you look at it."

"Whatever," she sighed, finishing her dinner. She got up and put her dishes in the sink. "I've got to go."

"Want me to drive you?" he asked.

"No, thanks. Ricci is picking me up," she said, speaking of another nurse on her shift.

"Okay," he said, sounding relieved.

"See you later," she said. She picked up her bag and left without kissing him. Ten years ago that would have never happened. Twenty years ago, she would have kissed him goodbye for so long that she had to rush to get to work on time.

"Hey, Mrs.., um.., " Miguel was running towards her.

"Lawrence," she told him.

"Mrs. Lawrence, is Mr. Lawrence okay?" Miguel asked. "I tried to talk to him, but..., Man, I was getting my ass kicked until he stepped in."

So that much was true. "He's fine," she answered, adjusting her sunglasses. "Just leave him alone, okay?"

"Okay," he shrugged. "Maybe I'll see you around." He walked back towards his door with his shoulders slumped.

Kayla felt bad for him. This wasn't really an apartment complex for kids but she didn't have time to stop and talk to him.

She was almost at work when her phone lit up. She sighed, expecting it to be Johnny in trouble again, but it was just a text instead.

_Mrs. Kayla, Could I_

_have twenty dollars_

_until my mom gets_

_paid?_

Robby. Her stepson. She wanted to say no but she also knew that very little of the child support Johnny paid every month actually made it to him.

**Okay, Robby.**

**Come by my**

**work in an**

**hour.**

Seventeen years before, she had actually left Johnny. It hadn't lasted. But apparently, it had been long enough for him to knock up Shannon Keene which had been a double-edged knife in her heart. Not only had he been sleeping around while they were separated, he'd gotten someone else pregnant. In all those years that they'd been together, she hadn't even so much as thought she was pregnant, much less, been pregnant and he had a kid with someone else. It had been a bitter pill to swallow and one that she had to actively work to not make Robby swallow too. It hadn't been so hard at first. Shannon hadn't wanted to be a mom so she'd dropped Robby off with them when he was three months old and hadn't even requested scheduled visitations until Robby was nine. That's when her latest sugar daddy had broken off their arrangement and she'd found out that the more she kept Robby, the more child support Johnny was forced to pay. Not only had she taken Robby away, but she'd also started feeding him the most atrocious lies about how Johnny and Kayla didn't really want him and how they wouldn't have anything to do with him anymore once Kayla had a baby. Basically, she'd undone nine years of not being there by convincing him that she was the only one who really cared and that Kayla and Johnny had kept him from her. It had worked like a charm. Soon, gone was the smiling little boy who played soccer and helped her cook and in his place was a sullen, angry preteen who started coming over less and less until the visits just stopped. Now he only reached out when he needed money, though she did still see glimmers of that little boy she'd loved from time to time.

"Did my dad do that to you?" he asked venomously, pointing at her eye.

"No, Sweetie," she said, handing him the money. "I got in the way of a patient here. You know your dad's never hit me."

He shrugged. "My mom says he hit her."

"Your mom also says she goes out job hunting at eight pm.," she countered.

"Whatever," Robby shrugged, taking the cash. After a moment of hesitation, he hugged her. "Thanks, Kay."

"No problem, Robby," she hugged him back. "Take care of yourself. You know where I am if you need anything."

"I know," he replied, hugging her a little tighter for a moment before leaving.

* * *

 

"Did you go to jail again last night?" Kayla asked Johnny when she got home. He was laying on the sofa, watching some old movie she'd forgotten the name of.

"No, but the car is totaled," he answered, taking a swig of his beer.

"Great. How did that happen? How drunk were you?" She asked.

"It wasn't my fault. Some dumb ass kids in an SUV hit my car while it was parked," he answered, defensively.

"What is it with you and kids lately?" She shot back. "They're going to put you on some kind of list if you don't chill."

"Yeah, okay," he responded, turning back to his movie.

"Speaking of kids, I saw Robby last night," she said.

"Yeah? How much money did you give him?"

"Twenty."

"He plays you like a fiddle," Johnny smirked.

"He wanted to know if you did this to my eye."

"What did you tell him?"

"Of course, I said no," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I told him that you've never hit me. He said Shannon's told him that you hit her."

"I've never hit that bitch," he replied. "I should but I haven't."

"I know."

"Come here." He held out a hand to her.

"What?" She walked over to him.

"Come here," he repeated, grabbing her hand and pulling her down on the sofa with him. "Kiss me."

"You're drunk," she replied. "And I desperately need a shower."

"No, I'm not." He countered, pulling her down and kissing her. "And I need you." He turned them so that she was under him. He kissed her again, pulling at the drawstrings of her scrubs."Stop, Johnny," she warned, pushing him away.

"Come on, Baby," he pleaded, kissing her neck. "I'll make you feel good." She could tell by the sound of his voice that it was more than sex he was asking for. He was asking that connection, that love, but she just couldn't. Not then. Not like that. Not with him half drunk and her too tired to even want to be touched.

"No," she snapped more harshly than she intended.

"Fine." She could hear the pain in that one word. He moved to let her up.

"Johnny...," she started.

"It's okay," he interrupted. "Go get a shower. We'll talk when you get out." But he was gone when she got out.

 


	3. Chapter 3

"I want to reopen the Cobra Kai Dojo," Johnny announced practically bursting into the apartment.

"Wait. What?" Kayla asked, confused. She was standing at the kitchen counter.

"I want to reopen Cobra Kai," Johnny repeated, upending the trash can.

"So that is what I heard." She shook her head. "Let me rephrase. What the hell are you talking about?"

He found the two pieces of paper he was looking for and stood up. "Come with me." He grabbed her hand and practically pulled her to the strip mall down the street. "Look," he pointed at a vacant storefront.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You want to reopen your old karate dojo in a strip mall?"

"Yeah," he nodded, enthusiastically. "I want to teach karate."

"First of all, when was the last time you used karate? Have you even practiced it since high school?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I remember what to do. How do you think I stopped those assholes the other night?"

"Okay, well, there's a big difference between being able to do something and being able to teach it," she replied, trying to bring him back to reality. "Not to mention, a huge difference in being able to do enough karate to not get your ass kicked by some teenagers and really being able to do it."

"I can do this," he repeated.

"Say you can, how are you going to pay for it?" She asked.

"Sid." He pulled the two piece of the check out of his pocket and handed it to her. "He tried to give me this yesterday, saying he was buying me out of his life. But I tore it up."

"You don't take money from Sid," she said.

"I'm not taking it," he replied. "Once the dojo is up and running, I'll give him even cent back. Look, just look at the building with me before you say anything, but I know I can do this."

"Okay," she agreed as the real estate agent pulled up with the keys.

The building was in bad shape. Apparently the last tenants had taken everything but the drywall and the flooring with them. Even the light switches and internal doorknobs were gone.

"Johnny, this place needs a lot of work to be usable," Kayla said, looking around.

"Yeah, but its mostly cosmetic stuff," he said, nothing dimming his idea. "I can do all this shit in just a few days."

"The owner has agreed to subtract the cost of repairs from the second month's rent," The agent spoke up. The shop had been up for rent for over a year. No one was building businesses in Reseda lately and those that were wanted move in ready locations. "You know, provided that you don't rip it all out and take it with you when you fold."

"Can we have a minute?" Kayla asked him.

"Sure," he said, walking to the other side of the room and pulling out his phone.

Johnny was right, he could make the repairs and Sid's check was enough for three months rent and the mats and basic equipment he would need and to be honest, she didn't really care what he did with Sid's money but there was just one thing bothering her.

"I don't know, Baby," she said, biting her lip. She remembered Cobra Kai. She remembered that asshole Kreese. According to Bobby, he'd tried to kill Johnny after LaRusso beat him at the All Valley Tournament. She would have just taken it as teenage hyperbole as her parents had, except for the cut above Bobby's eye from where Kreese had backhanded him when he tried to intervene. Bobby had worn a thin silver scar from that night for the rest of his life. Not to mention all the mental scars Kreese had left on the Cobra Kais, and most especially, Johnny.

"What?"

"I remember the Cobra Kai sensei. I don't want you to be like that. I don't want you to be a sadistic prick who gets his rocks off by beating up teenagers," she said.

"I'm not Kreese," he snapped. "You're right, he was an asshole, but I'm not him." He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close. "Kayla, I've been thinking about this a lot. I'm not meant to be a security guard, or a salesman, or a handyman," he ran down some of the jobs he'd had in the past. "This is what I am good at. I mean, I don't expect to get rich but we could keep our heads above water, at least. I think this is what I am supposed to do. "

She hesitated. It was true that he had been great a karate. He'd actually only lost one match as a black belt. Unfortunately, it had been the make it or break it match. It also wouldn't be a bad thing if he had something to keep him from just sitting around the house getting drunk all day. And it was Sid's money. "Okay," she relented. "Three months. If it isn't self-sufficient by then we shut it down, but until then, let's do it."

"Three months," he repeated, then smiled. "You're really on board?"

She nodded, "If you want to do this, then I'm with you." She smiled up at him and put her arms around his neck. "Besides, if you're going to open Cobra Kai again, you're going to need someone who can bandage wounds around."

He laughed, then kissed her. "Hey, we'll take it," he called out to the agent. "Bring the papers tomorrow. I'll have your money then."

* * *

It was two weeks into the first month and the dojo was coming along nicely. Johnny and that kid Miguel had gotten most of the repairs done and the mats and punching dummies were in place. Kayla still had her doubts but Johnny did seem really dedicated to the ideal, even a run-in with Daniel LaRusso hadn't put a damper on his enthusiasm.

She was at the dojo, helping fill out paperwork for the business licenses when his phone rang. Johnny looked that number, then handed it to her.

"Answer this please," he said.

"It's not Shannon, is it?" She asked suspiciously.

"No. I think it's about my car," he replied. "I just don't want to deal with LaRusso right now."

"Okay." She answered the phone and spoke with the receptionist. "Your car is ready for pick up. Want me to go pick it up for you?"

"That would be awesome," he admitted.

"No problem," she said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before standing up to go.

"Hey, don't say anything about his daughter being the one that hit it, okay?" he asked.

"Sure, but why not?" she asked. She had wondered why he hadn't already told Daniel what a shit his kid was.

"Because he'll just think I'm trying shift the blame," he replied. "And he won't believe it. So, just let him think he's done some major favor and leave it at that."

"Okay." She took the processing slip he was holding out for her.

* * *

"Hi, I'm here to pick up a car," Kayla told the lady at the help desk. She handed over the paper Johnny had given her.

"Oh, right, the Firebird," she said. "And you are?"

"Kayla Lawrence. Johnny is my husband," she replied.

"Well, Mr. LaRusso really wanted to talk Mr. Lawrence," the receptionist said, looking at the note on her computer file.

"He's at work. Is that going to be a problem?" Kayla asked.

"No, no," she replied. "Just let me get one of our service team to pull it around and I'll see if Mr. LaRusso still wants to talk to you." She left the desk and came back a few minutes later with Daniel.

"Hi, I'm Daniel LaRusso," he said, shaking her hand warmly. "You're Johnny's wife?"

"Kayla Lawrence," she replied.

"Well, Mrs. Lawrence, if you'll follow me, I'll explain and show you what all we did to the car," he said, leading her to the lot. On the way, he kept stealing glances at her. Finally, as they reached the car, he asked, "Do I know you? I feel like I should know you."

"You don't know me," she answered, but then in an effort to be nice, she continued, "But you knew my brother, Bobby."

"That's right," Daniel smiled. "Bobby Brown. You resemble him. It's the eyes. Wait, was it your boyfriend that the Cobra Kais forced to apologize for lying about your date?"

"That was me," she nodded, blushing.

"You know that's the one thing those guys did that I actually agreed with," Daniel admitted, truthfully. "How is Bobby?"

"He's passed away," she said, looking away.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss," he replied, patting her back. 

"It's okay. It's been a long time," she answered.

"So you married Johnny? How did Bobby like that?" Daniel smiled.

She shrugged. "I don't know, we reconnected at Bobby's service. I like to think he'd be happy, but then again, he always told me I wasn't allowed to date Cobra Kais, so I don't know." She smiled genuinely.

"Smart man," he laughed but was only kind of joking. "Anyway, most of the damage was to the rear end of the car. We had to replace the back panel and the hatch. We couldn't exactly match the paint, so we repainted the whole car but it's only a shade different."   
Kayla nodded.

"You know," Daniel stopped going over the car for a moment. "Speaking of the Cobra Kais, do you really think it's a good idea for Johnny to reopen the dojo?"

"I stand behind my husband," Kayla said, crisply. "I think we should stick to the car."

"Right," Daniel said, realizing that he needed to back off for now. "Anyway, everything should be right, but if Johnny has any problems, tell him to contact me personally. I don't mind tell you it was a bear to get some of the parts. I don't know why he was so stubborn about fixing this car."

"That's because to you it's just a car," Kayla snapped. "This car was the last thing his mom gave him before she died. She'd had it custom made for his graduation while she was going through chemo. You just see a broken down, ancient car but Johnny sees a piece of his mom that he can still hold on to. Proof that even when she was at her sickest, she was still thinking about him. You can't replace something like that as easily as you can a rear panel."

"Oh." He was humbled and felt guilty about all the wisecracks that had been made about the 'hunk of junk' car they were restoring. He wished he'd made them do a better job. He was going to have to have a talk with his crew about respecting the vehicles brought in because they didn't always know the whole story. "Well, here's your keys." He handed her the key ring. "It was nice meeting you."

"You too," she nodded politely before leaving.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Robby sat in his principal's office beginning to worry. He'd been caught with drugs. He wasn't a saint. He'd been in trouble before but this was real trouble. This was call the cops trouble. And he'd screwed up. His principal had given him a chance to not go to jail. She had told him that if a parent would come and pick him up, she'd be satisfied to just confiscate the Molly. It was the first time he'd been caught with drugs and it was just two pills. It was just two pills because he had already sold the other eight but still, she didn't know that. He'd convinced Mrs. Jenkins that he'd bought them from some guy on the way to school to try himself because he was 'just curious'. She had bought the whole story too. He was home free until he'd popped off to his dad. Today of all days, his mom just wouldn't answer her phone. He knew why. She was either too hungover to answer it or out somewhere trying to get too drunk to the answer the phone.

"Okay, Mr. Keene," Mrs. Jenkins said. "We're going to give your mother one last chance and then we're going to have to call either the cops or children's services because we can't just let you go home after an infraction of this magnitude and we've been trying to reach your mother for three hours."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. Of course, his mom still didn't pick up.

"Well, Mr. Keene, is there a grandparent you can call?" Mrs. Jenkins asked. She really didn't want to escalate the situation. Robby was one of those kids who seemed constantly on verge of making a life-changing bad decision and she didn't want to be the force that pushed him to it.

He sighed and rolled his eyes up. "588-4872."

"And this would be?"

"My dad's wife."

"You have step-mother?"

"No, my dad has a wife," he countered defensively.

"Okay," she replied, not pushing. She dialed the number.

"Hello?" Kayla answered the phone groggily. She had worked the last four nights and still had two more to go before she'd have a night off.

"Is this Mrs. Lawrence?"

"Yes, may I ask who is calling?" she replied, sitting up in bed, more alert.

"This Mrs. Jenkins with North Hills high school. I'm here with your step, I mean your husband's son," Mrs. Jenkins said.

"Yes, ma'am. Is he okay?" Kayla asked.

"Physically, yes," Mrs. Jenkins answered.

"Then you need to call his mother," she gave the standard, court-approved answer.

"We've tried. She isn't picking up," Jenkins replied. "We've also talked to your husband and I feel he isn't the best person to deal with this issue."

"What's the problem?" Kayla asked.

"He was found with drugs. Apparently, he wanted to experiment," she explained. "We've taken the substance but you can see why we can't allow him to go home alone."

"Yes ma'am, but we do not have custody of Robby," Kayla replied.

"Well, Mrs. Lawrence here's the bottom line. If you can't retrieve Robby and see him home safely, I will have no choice but to turn him over to the police or children's services," Jenkins said finally.

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Kayla responded. She quickly dressed and ran down to the dojo. Johnny was working with Miguel.

"Hey, Miggie," she smiled, using the nickname his mother and grandmother used.

"Hey, Mrs. Sensei," he grinned back.

"Keep punching," Johnny told him, motioning to the dummy. "What's up, Babe?" he asked Kayla.

"I have to run an errand and I need to use the car," she said.

"No problem," he replied. "What's the errand?"

Somehow Kayla got the feeling she shouldn't reveal it. "Oh, just some dumb work thing," she said. "You know, about getting hit last month."

"Let me get the keys," he said, heading to the office.

"Hey," she whispered to Miguel.

He looked up.

"Want to get him back for all the cleaning?" she asked.

Miguel grinned and nodded.

"Okay, I'll distract him," she pointed at Johnny who was still looking for his keys. "Then when I give you the signal, sneak up behind him and sweep his legs."

"He'll kill me," Miguel whispered back.

"Nah, trust me," she smiled.

"Here you go," Johnny said, walking towards her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the keys. She put her arms around him and pulled him to her. "Do I get a kiss?"

He leaned down to give her a peck on the lips, but she held him, kissing him longer. Over his back, she motioned to Miguel, 3, 2, 1. She let Johnny go and stepped back just as Miguel was successful in sweeping his legs out from under him.

"Always watch your back, Sensei," Miguel grinned, repeating one of the lessons Johnny had taught him.

Johnny looked up at his wife and his student laughing and high-fiving each other. He chuckled.

"No, Miguel, this lesson would be 'don't let a pretty girl get you in trouble' and it goes for both of us," Johnny replied. He got to his feet.

"Okay, for real this time," Kayla said, kissing Johnny. "See you later. Miggie, keep up the good work."

* * *

 

Kayla didn't say anything as she drove Robby to his mom's apartment. When they were about halfway there, Robby spoke up.

"Hey, Mrs. Kayla, do you think we could stop at the store and get me some cereal and milk?"

"I don't know," Kayla looked at her watch. She was going to be cutting it close to get to work as it was.

"Please?" He added. "We don't have any food at home."

"How do you not..., nevermind," Kayla stopped herself. She knew Shannon had the money. She'd sent the child support check herself but it wouldn't be right to question Robby about it. She sighed. "Yeah, we'll get you something."

In the end, Robby felt slightly guilty. He hadn't really needed the food, he was just testing her to see if she would do it. Not only did Kayla get him some cereal and milk, but she had gotten him enough food to last the rest of the week and she hadn't said a word about the things he picked out. His mom always made passive aggressive comments about things being too expensive when he asked for Von's pizzas and Dr. Peppers. His mom would tell him that was because Johnny and Kayla had plenty of money, but he knew that wasn't true. Not that it had ever been discussed, but he knew how much a handyman and a nurse in Reseda would make.

"Here, let me help you," Kayla said, watching him struggle with the bags and his school books and skateboard. She carried the bags up to his apartment. She had hoped the fact that Shannon couldn't be reached meant she was out but it no such luck as she had swung the front door open as Robby searched his pockets for his keys.

"What are you doing here?" Shannon demanded glaring at Kayla.

"Robby's school called," Kayla explained. "Someone had to pick him up. He has a letter from his principal that explains everything."

"I'll take care of it," she replied, folding her arms over her chest. She looked Kayla up and down and Kayla suddenly became distinctly aware of how she must look. Shannon was dressed for a night out in a short black cocktail dress with her hair perfectly styled and full makeup. Kayla was in well-worn scrubs with her dark hair scraped back in a bun, with stands of gray streaking her temples. She stepped back a step and handed Robby the bags.

"Make sure that you do," Kayla replied. "This is very important."

"Hey, don't tell me how to take care of my kid," Shannon snapped. "Stay away from Robby. He's mine." She looked Kayla up and down again. "You know, maybe if you'd take care of yourself, Johnny wouldn't be out screwing other women and you could have had a kid of your own instead of trying to steal mine."

Kayla gasped as though Shannon had slapped her. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Robby wasn't sure if she trying not to cry or strike out at Shannon, but she opened her eyes again and looked at him. "Take care, Robby."

"That was really mean, Mom," Robby said when Kayla was out of sight.

"So, what? You're on her side now?" Shannon asked him.

"I'm not on a side," he replied, putting the food away.

"Well, that bitch is the reason your dad isn't around. Think about that before you decide what side you want to be on," she retorted.

"Dad does what dad wants to do. He doesn't pay attention to her," he said. He stopped short. At the bottom of the last bag was a package of Reese's cups. He hadn't seen Kayla pick it up. He smiled. They were his absolute favorite. When he'd lived with her and Johnny, she would buy him one every week when they did the shopping. Then after they had put everything away, they'd sit at the table and each eat one of the cups and drink a glass of milk and she would listen patiently to him talk about his day. Of course, Kay would have remembered that. He grabbed the package and ran down to the parking lot but she was already gone.

 


	5. Chapter 5

"How was Robby?" Johnny asked when Kayla got home the next morning.

"How did you know?"

"We've been married for twenty-four years," he replied. "Don't you think I know when you're bullshitting by now?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. At least he let you help him. He just told me what a loser I am," he said.

"Well, don't worry. Shannon took care of letting me know what a loser I am," she replied, looking down at her feet. "I don't know. Maybe she's right."

"Why do you let the things she says get to you?" he asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her to him and hugging her.

She shrugged and shook her head. He would never understand and it only caused a fight when she tried to explain.

"I made a mistake," he said. "But it has never and will never happen again. I know I haven't told you a lot, or at all, lately but I do love you."

"I love you, too," she said.

"I made you breakfast," he said, changing the subject. "Sit down and I'll get it." He motioned to the table.

"You made me breakfast?" she smiled. She couldn't remember the last time he'd done something nice for her just because.

"Well, I knew you weren't going to get a chance to eat much last night, so I thought you might be hungry," he shrugged. He set a plate of eggs and toast and a cup of coffee in front of her and took the seat across from her.

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him. It has only been a few weeks, but it seemed like he was really changing. She hadn't seen him so into anything. She just hoped it would last. "What time are you going to to dojo?"

He shrugged. "Not really anything to do until Miguel is out of school. Man, I've got to get some more students."

"They'll come," she said. "You haven't been open a month yet. What about Robby?"

"No."

"Why? He'd be great at it," she asked.

"I know he would, that's why he's not going to do it," he said.

"Yeah, because having a great student to bring attention to your dojo would be a bad thing."

"Because once everyone knew I could fight, that's all they wanted me to do. Nothing else mattered. Not school, not other sports, not my friends, nothing." Johnny replied. "I don't want that for him."

"But its okay for Miguel and others," she pressed.

"I'm teaching Miguel because he was getting his ass kicked every day," he said. "Robby isn't getting his ass kicked."

"No, he's just using and selling drugs."

"He's not your kid so why do you even care?" he snapped. As soon as he said it he regretted it.

"I guess I don't." She set her fork down and stood up. Johnny reached for her arm but she snatched it away and went in the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

"Shit," he mumbled.

* * *

 

Kayla peeled off her scrubs, tossed them in a laundry basket, and crawled into bed, too tired for anything else at the moment. She couldn't believe Johnny had just said that to her. No, she wasn't Robby's mother. She wasn't anyone's mother. That didn't mean that she didn't still care about him. She wiped her eyes hastily. She wasn't going to cry. If Shannon hadn't made her cry, she wasn't going to let Johnny do it. At least, that's what she told herself, but for some reason, she just couldn't keep the tears wiped away.

"This is stupid," she told herself. "You got over this years ago." She wiped her eyes again.

  


"It's not my kid," Kayla spat into the phone. "You deal with it." She was so angry. She couldn't believe Johnny was calling her. She'd made it clear that she wasn't going to help him with Shannon's child. It wasn't fair. Not once in seven years had she even thought she was pregnant but they split up for four months and he got Shannon Keene pregnant. Life could be cruel. They had been back together for six month when Shannon had called him up with the news. Kayla should have left him that night. But she didn't. Stupidly, she still loved him and she thought she could deal with it. She really had but the first time she'd seen him with Robby, she thought she would explode with pain. She wanted Johnny to hurt as badly as she was. Soon that pain had turned to anger and the anger to bitterness. That's when she went from just wanting Johnny to hurt to actively trying to hurt him. She should have left then. She knew it. But again, she didn't. She began working late, going out with friends after work, or sleeping over at her parents' house more and more and when it was Johnny's night to have Robby, she would just disappear altogether. When she was home she was distant and cold.

Then she had run into Crispin Turner, now Dr. Turner. He had become a pediatric surgeon and was doing a rotation at the hospital she had been working at. The first thing he had done when he'd recognized her was apologize for not being there for her when Bobby died. He said all the right things and soon she made sure she was the nurse rounding with him. Then it was taking breaks together in the doctor's lounge and having lunch together when she was on shift. Was it any surprise that she found herself in his hotel room that night? Once she was there though, she found her conviction wavering. Who would she really be hurting? And it didn't help that her damn phone kept ringing. Even on silent it still buzzed.

"I have to answer that," she said just as their lips were about to meet. "I'm sorry. I just can't think...,"

"It's okay," Crispin said. "I'll give you a moment." He left the room.

"Hello?" She said into the phone.

"Kayla?" Johnny sounded frantic. "Please don't hang up."

"What is it?" she asked coldly.

"Robby is sick," he said. "I don't know what to do. I've called Shannon and she isn't home. I've called his doctor but he hasn't called back. I don't know what to do."

"It's your child," she snapped. "Figure it out."

"He's burning up," he pleaded. "Please help me. I scared, Kayla."

"It's not my child," she spat out coldly. "You deal with it." She hung up.

A few minutes later, Crispin returned. "Everything good?"

She nodded.

"Where were we?" he asked, sitting on the bed beside her. He put his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Relax, Kay," he whispered. "It isn't like we haven't done this before." He slid his hand up her leg and pushed her back on the bed.

She couldn't get Johnny out of her head. He never admitted to being scared about anything,

"Crispin, I have to go," she said, shoving him off of her. "I'm sorry. I can't. I have to go."

"I knew you wouldn't," Crispin replied, resignedly. "Let me drive you home."

It took twenty minutes later, he was pulling up at her house. She and Johnny lived in the neighborhood she'd grown up in. It wasn't Encino Hills but it wasn't South Sea apartments either.

"Thank you," she said to Crispin, kissing him on the cheek.

"See you around," he said, squeezing her hand.

She went inside. Johnny was pacing back and forth in the kitchen with a screaming Robby on his shoulder. Whatever questions he had for her, he kept to himself.

"Give him here," she said, holding her arms out. "He has croup," she announced after examining him for a few moments. "Did _she_ leave him some medicine?"

"Not that I can find," he said.

"Typical. Go to the pharmacy and get some baby Motrin and Tylenol and saline spray. Got that?" She asked.

He nodded.

While he was gone, she took Robby in the bathroom and turned on the hot water from every tap available and sat down on the edge of the tub with him in her lap while he coughed and screamed.

"I know, Sweetheart," she said, soothingly. "You feel yucky. It's okay. Daddy's gone to get you some medicine." She rubbed his back.

"Why are you in here?" Johnny asked when he returned.

"The steam will help him breath," she answered. She gave him the medicines.

"Thank you for coming," Johnny said, sitting down beside her.

"Well, he doesn't deserve to suffer just because you do," she replied. After Robby's breathing had improved and he'd fallen into a fitful sleep, Johnny spoke again.

"Who dropped you off?"

"Crispin Turner." She knew he would know the name.

"What were you doing with him?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "What do you think I was doing with him?"

He looked away. "I guess I deserve it."

"No you don't," she said. "I just wanted to hurt you."

"Good job then." He brought his eyes back to hers.

"I couldn't do it," she admitted.

"You didn't sleep with him?"

She shook her head. "Hurting you didn't seem like a good enough reason. It wasn't going to change anything. You would still have Robby. Shannon would still be a part of our lives. The only person it would change is me. And I don't think I'd like the person it would make me."

"I'm so sorry, Kay," he said. "I never meant...If I could make it right, I would."

"I know."

He put his arm around her and for the first time since he'd told her about Robby, she didn't pull away. They sat like that in the steamy bathroom for the better part of an hour until Robby was breathing easily and sleeping soundly.

"Here," she laid him in Johnny's arms. "Put him in his bed and keep trying to reach Shannon. She needs to know."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Sit here and think about what I want to do next."

"I love you."

"I know that," she smiled weakly. "I love you too. You'd better go call Shannon."

Little did they know they wouldn't hear from Shannon for a year and by that point, it didn't matter who had given birth to him, Robby was Kayla's son.

  


Kayla wiped her eyes again when she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

Johnny sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I know you love Robby," he said. "I'm grateful that you do. I'm sorry for saying he wasn't your child. Maybe I will ask him to join Cobra Kai. I just don't want him to go through the same thing I did. I want him to be more than just some washed up karate teacher." He kissed her forehead. "Get some rest."

 


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my goodness! It's one of those totally hot Cobra Kai guys," Kayla feigned excitement, leaning against the office door. "Think he'll go out with me?"  
"That depends. Do you put out?" Johnny looked up from his desk and grinned, trying not to laugh. "What are you wearing?"

"It's Halloween," Kayla laughed. She was wearing a cheerleader uniform complete with knee socks and a bow in her hair. "We're having a costume party for the kids in the hospital. Don't I look cute?"

"You look like a felony," he laughed. "You're going to work like that?"

"Hell yeah," she smiled. "This is my cheer uniform from senior year and it fits me. Hell yeah, I'm wearing it."

"Damn. Where was I your senior year?" He asked, going over to her and putting his arms around her waist.

"Still too old for me," she answered. "Bobby would have kicked your ass."

"Bobby couldn't kick my ass. I have the trophies to prove it," he smiled.

"With the right motivation, he could have kick your ass ten ways to Sunday," she laughed, then sobered. "I miss him."

"I do too," Johnny admitted. "He would love this place."

"Yeah, he would have," she agreed, looking sad.

"And he probably would have kicked my ass by now. Maybe not for dating you, but definitely for some of the other shit I've done," he said. He pushed her chin up and kissed her.

"No use, Sensei," Miguel said, coming out of the bathroom. "Nothing can be done to make 'Poor Man' look less pathe...," He faded off. "Oh, sorry, Sensei." He turned away.

"It's okay, Miguel," Kayla said, stepping back from Johnny.

"Mrs. Kayla?" Miguel's eyes grew wide as he looked at her.

"I'm going to ignore his surprise that it's me you were kissing," she said, looking at Johnny.

"It's the outfit," Johnny replied, rolling his eyes. "Not the girl."

"Uh.., yeah," Miguel agreed. "It's just...," He looked at her again. "I've never..., I mean...,."

"Stop before you hurt yourself," Johnny told him, holding up his hand.

"Yes, Sensei," Miguel said, relieved.

"What are you supposed to be?" Kayla asked.

"Poor Man," Johnny laughed.

"Well, it was Dead Pool, then it was Spiderman, now it's," he motioned at Johnny. "Poor Man."

"We can't let him go to the dance like that," Johnny said. "No amount of karate will fix that."

Kayla looked at him for a minute then smiled. "I have just the thing. Miguel, come with me. John, go get us some white and black face paint." She took Miguel to their apartment. "This was in the box with my uniforms," she said, pulling a skeleton costume out of a box. "It belongs to my brother. He was just about your size in high school. It should fit."

"Thanks, Mrs. Kayla," Miguel said. He went to the bathroom to change.

"What are you planning?" Johnny asked, coming in with a bag in his hand. "Here's the paint."

"This is awesome!" Miguel exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom. "Much better than Poor Man."

"Nice," Johnny smiled looking at him, then at Kayla. "Is that Bobby's?"

She nodded. "Mom had all my uniforms and his gi's packed away together." She motioned to some boxes on the floor. "That was in the box." She set Miguel down at the table and started smearing the white paint on his face.

"Are these Bobby's trophies?" Johnny asked, picking up another box.

"Yeah, they were just sitting in her attic, and they are Cobra Kai trophies, so I thought you might want to put them up at the dojo," she answered.

"Yeah, definitely," Johnny said, pulling each one out and looking at it. Most were the second place because until LaRusso had come to town, he and Bobby had usually ended up in the finals together at most competitions. "Hey, Miguel, check this out." He picked up one first place trophy. "SoCal Regional, our sophomore year, Bobby and I were in first and second place so we were in the finals against each other. He had never beaten me before but this time, I don't know, I guess I was distracted..." He did know. It was the first match Ali had come to but he wasn't about to say that in front of Kayla.

"He was showing off for a girl," she interrupted.

"Or that," Johnny continued. "Anyway, Bobby nails me in the jaw with this spin kick that I didn't even know he knew how to do. He got the win and I got to live on milkshakes for a month." He wiped the dust off the trophy before handing it over to Miguel. "Don't let pretty girls get you in trouble." He picked up another and wiped off the name plate. "He wasn't as fast as I was, but he had his kata down so when he did land a kick or a punch it was brutal. He'd be a great Sensei."

"Where is he now?" Miguel asked.

"He passed away," Kayla answered.

"Oh." Miguel looked down. "My dad passed away. It stinks sometimes."

"It does," she agreed, setting down the makeup. She grabbed a mirror out of her purse and held it up to him. "There. Now you look like a Cobra Kai."

"This is so cool," Miguel replies, looking at his face. He was so relieved that he didn't have to wear his Yaya's costume. He hasn't wanted to hurt her feelings, especially since he knew his Mom couldn't afford a different costume but he also knew was going to get his ass kicked. He had been going to just skip the dance and pretend he went until Johnny brought it up. "Will you still drive me, Sensei?"

Johnny nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to run drop 'Poor Man' at home. I'll be right back," Miguel said, heading to his apartment. "Thanks, Mrs. Kayla. I'll take good care of your brother's costume."

"I've got to run too," Kayla said, looking at a clock. "Ricci is probably waiting for me."

"I'll walk you out," he said.

"Kay!" A guy stepped out of his car. "You know we work with teenage boys with impulse control issues and you going to walk up in there looking like something from an adult movie? Are you trying to make my life difficult?"

"At least I didn't cop out," she shot back motioning to his usual scrubs. "What are you supposed to be? Besides, I'm practically wearing a muumuu compared to what cheerleaders wear now."

"I'm a doctor," he replied.  
"Ha. Dream big," Kayla replied. "Ricci, this is my husband, Johnny. Johnny, this is Ricci. He's the charge nurse on my shift."

Johnny shook hands with Ricci. He hadn't realized that Ricci was Ricky. He sized him up. Ricci was young and tall and slim with black hair and olive skin. This was who spent all day texting Kayla?

"Nice to meet you," Ricci said to him. "Kay, we have to go."

"Just a minute." She turned to Johnny. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Will you still be wearing this?" he teased.

  
"If you're good," she grinned.

He kissed her, maybe a little more possessively than he would have if Charge Nurse Ricci hadn't been watching them. "I'll see you."

* * *

What the hell happened?" Kayla asked, shocked. She had just gotten home from work to find Johnny passed out on the floor surrounded by Coors cans. "Johnny, get up!" He hadn't even had one beer when she'd left. She shook him hard. "Wake up!"

"Damn, what it is?" he asked, opening his eyes.

"What did you do last night?" she asked, picking up a can of spray paint.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Miguel got beat at the dance last night."

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be sore, but I don't think anything is broken," he answered.

"So you decided to go out and get drunk?" She asked, thinking she would go check on Miguel that afternoon.

"Apparently his mom didn't realize that he was taking karate," Johnny said. "Now he's not."

"How could she not know?"

"I guess he never told her."

"Wait," Kayla held up her hands. "You didn't get her permission? Johnny, you have to their parent's permission? What if he'd gotten hurt at the dojo? How could you be so stupid?!"

"Stupid. Yeah, okay," Johnny nodded. "Why didn't you tell me that Ricci is a man?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess I never thought about it. This isn't about me."

"Yeah? Or maybe you didn't tell me on purpose."

"Just what are you getting at?"

"It just seems strange that you spend all day texting and talking to some other man," he said.

"He's my boss, we talk about work."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Johnny said.

"You better tread really careful here," she said, realizing what he was implying.

"Yeah? He's not putting in that much time for just a co-worker," he replied.

"Is that what you think? Not every guy is like you."

"You know what else I think," he continues, closing the space between them. He grabbed her arms tightly. "I think maybe he's the reason you never want me to touch you anymore."

"I don't want you to touch me because you're drunk all the time," she snapped.

"Well, you're not getting it from me, so you maybe you're getting it from him," he said, menacingly.

"No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to put your faults on me. I'm not the one who has slept around. You know what? Yesterday, before I left, when you were sober and you were helping Miguel, that was sexy as hell. I couldn't wait to get home to you this morning, but now...," she trailed off, looking around the room at all the beer cans and bottles. "Well, maybe I should have fucked Ricci. I'm sure he could have at least gotten the job done. Could you?" She broke his hold on her. She wasn't usually so cruel but she couldn't believe he would accuse her of sleeping with her boss. "Get your shit together, Johnny, because I'm not doing it anymore and if you ever,  _ever_ , put your hands on me like that again, it'll be the last time you see me." She shoved him away and walked out.

His phone rang before he could follow her.

* * *

This day had sucked. Nothing had turned out right. Kayla had bitched him out. He deserved it but it still hurt. He didn't know why he had grabbed her. He wasn't like that. He wasn't like Sid or even his real dad. He didn't need to beat his wife to prove he was a man. Robby had disrespected him, which he didn't deserve, and he didn't even want to think about Shannon. Where did she get off acting like she was the mother of the year? Throwing it up to him that he hadn't been there for Robby. He had tried, damn it. He and Kayla had done everything they could to keep Robby with them. They'd even sold their house to pay lawyer fees to keep trying to fight Shannon for custody. Hell, he'd even gone hat in hand to Sid to get the money but it hadn't mattered. He'd screwed it up like he always did. Actually, no. No matter how things turned out, he refused to feel bad about what he did. One day Robby would understand. Besides, it wasn't his fault that the pansy ass judge thought it worse for Johnny to kick the shit out of the guy than it was for Shannon to have the son of a bitch around Robby in the first place. She'd played up innocent bystander role and men want to believe women who are pretty.

He took another bite of his hamburger and looked around the small diner. He wasn't sure why, out of all the places to eat in Encino and Reseda, he'd decide to stop there. Maybe he wanted to touch a part of his life that hadn't been absolutely crap. Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment. He wasn't sure. He and Robby used to meet Kayla here for dinner on Friday nights when Robby was young and she'd worked at a hospital nearby. They'd get hamburgers and then split a dessert. His eyes fell on a boy and his Dad doing that very thing, but he wasn't seeing them.

 

"Have I ate enough now, Daddy?" Four-year-old Robby was sitting in front of him, pulling his hamburger apart in an effort make it look like he was eating.

"You know Mama's rules," Johnny said. "You have to eat your hamburger to get ice cream."

"But Mama isn't here yet," Robby grinned. "Couldn't we just say I ate it? They put pickles on it."

"I let you take the pickles off," he replied. "Let's be good men and do things right, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Robby sighed, pushing a pickle off the edge of his plate. He picked up a small piece of burger and took a tiny bite. He looked up, then jumped out of his seat, his eyes lighting up. "Mama!" He ran towards Kayla who had just walked in. She scooped him up and tossed him in the air before settling him on her hip. "Hey, Robby-man." She kissed his cheek as she walked towards Johnny.

Johnny stood up and kissed her. "Hey, Baby."

"Who didn't eat their hamburger?" she asked as she put Robby back in the booth and slid in beside him. Johnny sat down across from them and held Kayla's hand over the table.

Robby looked down guiltily. "They put pickles on it," he reported.

"We took them off," Johnny said again.

"Well, hurry up and eat then," Kayla told Robby. "So we can get our ice cream."

Robby took another bite so small Johnny was sure no food actually got in his mouth. He looked glumly at the plate.

"Hey, Kay, look at that," Johnny said, pointing behind her. When she turned around, he grabbed the biggest piece of Robby's burger off the plate and popped it in his mouth.

"What did you just do?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

He just grinned and shrugged, then winked at Robby who covered his mouth and giggled. Robby then picked up some of the burger and took a real bite. Three more rounds of 'look at that' and Robby had his ice cream.

 

Seven-year-old Robby wasn't sitting in the booth. He was attempting to eat while balancing on his new skateboard as Johnny and Kayla were finishing up their meals. It was no longer a chore to get Robby to eat as he had already finished his meal and was stealing fries off of Kayla's plate.

"See how good I can balance, Daddy?" Robby asked, unaware that the reason he'd suddenly become so good at staying on his skateboard was that Johnny was holding it in place with his foot against the front wheels. "Can we go to a skate park tomorrow?"

 

Nine-year-old Robby was chattering on and on about his week at Shannon's,

"Dad," he said, slowing down a bit. "Do you think it would be okay if I started calling Mama, Mama Kayla instead? I think calling her just Mama hurts my mom's feelings and I don't want to hurt her."

"I think Kayla will understand," Johnny said, sadly. Later, Mama had become Mrs. Well, first it had been just 'Kayla' but Johnny had quickly put a stop to that, saying Robby didn't have to call her 'Mama' but he did have to show her respect. Surprisingly, Robby had listened.

 

Eleven-year-old Robby was slumped in the back booth, his food only played with. Kayla had tried to talk to him about school. Johnny had tried to talk to him about skating. It didn't matter. Whatever they tried to talk about, Robby would just put his headphones on and ignored them. "Can I just go back to Mom's now?" he asked.

"Yeah," Johnny replied. "We can go."

That was their last trip to the diner.

 

Johnny smiled as he watched the couple in the booth. He was going to do things right. He was going to get his family back and that was going to start with making Cobra Kai a success. He just had to get his student back first.

 


	7. Chapter 7

"Hi, Ms. Diaz, I'm Kayla Lawrence." She was standing at their door.

"I know who you are," Carmen said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Johnny told me what happened at the dance. I just wanted to see if Miguel is okay and if there is anything we can do," she explained. "Miguel is a great kid."

"Yeah, he is," Carmen agreed. "That's why I want you and especially your husband to stay the hell away from him."

"Excuse me?" Kayla was taken aback.

"Look, no offense, I'm sure you are a nice person, but I don't want Miggie around a man like your husband."

"What do you mean a man like my husband?" Kayla asked confused.

"Violent," Carmen snapped. "I spent my life trying to keep Miguel away from violent men. I'm not fixing to hand him over to one now."

"Wait," Kayla shook her head. "Johnny isn't violent."

"He got Miguel into a fight," Carmen replied.

"No, he didn't. Those boys have been after Miguel for a long time. John is the one who stopped them from beating him up at the mini-mart."

"He's been teaching him to fight."

"In self-defense," Kayla said.

"Oh, and did he give you a black eye in self-defense?"

"That's not how I got the black eye," Kayla tried to explain.

"Oh, let me guess, you walked into a door," Carmen said. "Or, wait, maybe you prefer my favorite excuse that you fell down some stairs?"

Kayla looked at Carmen's scrubs. "No, I prefer the truth that a patient at Ridge Crest Living Center hit me when I was trying to stop her from self-harming."

"You work at Ridge Crest?" Carmen asked, softening slightly. She had heard of the facility and that it was possible Kayla could have been hit by a patient there.

"Yes."

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry if I incorrectly assumed your situation," Carmen apologized without completely letting Johnny off the hook.

"For what it's worth, Johnny was wrong to not get your permission before training Miguel, but he didn't get him in that fight," Kayla said. "I understand that you don't want him taking lessons. I just wanted to make sure that he was okay."

"He's sore but okay," Carmen admitted. "He's more angry with me than anything else."

"I'm glad he's okay. Let us know if we can do anything," Kayla said, turning to leave.

"Do you know who the kids who attacked him are?" Carmen asked. "He won't tell me. I told him that the school would protect him but he's being stubborn."

"I honestly don't," Kayla answered. "However, take it from someone who graduated from West Valley, that school isn't going to do anything to protect a Reseda kid from the Encino Hills kids. Money talks in that place and Reseda kids just fall through the cracks. I wasn't even a Reseda kid and I would not have taken on Hills kids alone. Fortunately, the one time I was in that position, the Cobra Kai boys were there to protect me because the teachers damn sure didn't." In fact, the guidance counselor had told her that if she didn't want people talking about her, she shouldn't hang out with the boys so much. Because Bobby watching her after school while their parents worked constituted her 'hanging out' with boys.

"Thanks for the advice," Carmen nodded.

* * *

 

Kayla was gone when Johnny got home. He didn't really blame her. Hell, it would serve him right if she was with that Ricci guy. He called her.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kayla," he said, softly.

"What do you want, Johnny?" She sounded hostile.

"I just wanted to know you were okay," he said.

"I'm fine," she sighed. "I'm at Susan's." Susan had been Bobby's fiancee when he died. She and Kayla had remained friends though, even after Susan had gotten married and moved on.

"Are you coming home?"

"Probably not tonight," she answered honestly. "But I will be back. I just need some time."

"Okay," he breathed a sigh of relief. "I can handle that."

She was silent for a minute, then said, "I love you, Johnny."

"I love you, too," he replied. He hung up the phone and then set to work cleaning up all the beer cans and bottles, then the dishes, finally stopping when the whole apartment was spotless. When he was done, he grabbed a Coors and sat down in front of the TV. He looked at the beer, thinking about what Kayla had said when they were fighting. She had said he was drunk all the time. Maybe she was right. He was certainly drunk more than he was sober. He put the beer back in the fridge and went down to the mini-mart to get a soda. He got his soda and went over to the dojo. He sat down in the office and thought about Robby. Maybe teaching him karate wouldn't be the worst thing. He could make sure that Robby didn't get as caught up in it as he had. Besides, it wasn't like karate was the only thing Robby would have going for him like he had. He dialed Robby's number but was too afraid to hit send. Fear did not exist in his dojo so he hit send. Voicemail. Of course.

"Hey, Robby. It's Dad. Call me. Please." He hung up and called Kayla.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Baby," he said. "I know you said you needed some time, but I need to talk to you. It's about Robby."

"How much have you had to drink?" she asked.

"Nothing." He was feeling it but he wasn't going to give in and have a beer.

"Okay," Kayla agreed. "Come pick me up."

Susan lived in Encino Hills so it took him a few minutes to get there, but Kayla was waiting outside. She got in the car.

"Where to?" she asked.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go home," he said.

She shook her head. "I told you that I needed time to think."

"That's fair," he said. He drove out to the beach and parked overlooking the water.

"What's wrong with Robby?" she asked.

"Shannon let him quit school," he said.

"She what?!" Kayla exclaimed. "He's only 16. She would have had to sign for him to quit."

"Apparently she did," he replied. "I called the school board and asked."

"Oh my goodness, why would she do that? I don't understand her."

"Well, I went to see her," he said.

"You did?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Just about Robby," he said. "Nothing else."

Kayla shook her head. "It's okay. I'm not worried about you and Shannon." It was true. Shannon could make her feel ugly and frumpy and seemed to know just where to stick the knife to cause Kayla the most pain, but Kayla had no doubts that Johnny would never sleep with Shannon again. Not after all the things she had done in the last seven years. "I was just surprised that you went to her instead of the other way around."

"Yeah. Anyway, she says she can't make him go to school or do anything anymore," he said. He took Kayla's hand in his. "I told her I want Robby to come live with us. Would you be okay with that?"

"You know I would. What did she say?"

"She blew up. Told me that I hadn't been there for him and a lot of other stuff. Especially that I didn't get a second chance," he said.

"Why not? She did. She's had so many chances I've lost count," she replied.

"I want to take her to court again," he said. "I want to fight for him. He needs somebody to."

"Whatever you need," Kayla agreed. "You know that I am with you."

"I do." He kissed the back of her hand. "Listen, about this morning, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the things I said, or what I did. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She shook her head. "No permanent damage. And I'm sorry too. I said things I shouldn't have too."

"But you were pushed to it," he replied. "I wasn't."

"I control me," she said. "I said what I said and I'm sorry for it."

He put his other hand against her cheek. "I love you." He kissed her. "I'm ready for us and Robby to be a family again. But I'm going to need your help. I have to make Cobra Kai a success so we can pay for a good lawyer but I can't do it alone. Will you help me?"

"You remember the one time I tried karate? I kneed you in the groin nearly made you cry," she smiled. Bobby had decided after the pantie incident that it would be a good idea for her to learn enough to defend herself and had made Johnny, then Dutch after she immobilized Johnny, stand in as the attacker while he taught her how to kick.

"Yeah, funny that Bobby forgot to tell you to pull your kicks until I was rolling around on the ground in pain," he chuckled. "You may not know the karate, but you do know about permission slips and medical information and all that stuff."

"Of course I'll help you," she said. "I want my boy back." She kissed him, sliding over so that she was in his lap. "I want my husband back, too."

"You have him," he promised, kissing her and pulling her closer.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Robby threw the pizzas he had just gotten in the freezer. He wasn't really in the mood for them anymore. He flopped down in the recliner and grabbed his laptop. He clicked on the Cobra Kai web page and stared at the snake logo. He'd bookmarked the site a few weeks ago when he'd found the flier but hadn't gone past the first page. He hadn't known that Johnny had gone to see Shannon after he'd come and talked to him about quitting school. Robby closed his laptop and set it to the side. Johnny and Kayla wanted him to come live with them? Since when? He hadn't even spent the night with them since Christmas vacation. He thought about the pizzas in the freezer. They always had dinner together when he was at his dad's. He knew that was probably just for him because Kayla was usually going to work when his dad was getting home, but still, it was something right? And his dad had left him that voicemail last week. He picked up his phone. He wasn't quite ready to call his dad yet and Johnny didn't text. Instead, he texted Kayla.

He picked up his computer as he waited for her to answer. He watched a few skating videos, then went back to the Cobra Kai page. He did that all night. He would spend a little while watching Netflix or videos, then he would go back to the Cobra Kai page and debate on whether he wanted to click on the link. He checked his phone again. Kayla still hadn't texted him back, but that wasn't strange. Sometimes it took her a while to answer when she was at work but this one time, he wished she would text him back quickly.

He finally clicked the link and smiled at the picture of Johnny in his Gi. He read the little blurb and smiled sadly. He missed riding with his dad in his Firebird. They used to go to the skate park with the top off and Guns and Roses blasting out of the speakers, or Poison when Kayla was with them. Dad would complain the whole time, but he still played it for Mama. Johnny had promised to teach him how to drive in that car. But that was before. Before his mom had come back into his life and Johnny and Kayla had dropped him like garbage and went on with their lives.

He looked up as the door opened and his mom and some guy came in. Shannon was telling the guy to be quiet and the jerk just got louder every time she said it. Was she wearing a different dress than when she left? She pulled the guy into her bedroom without ever even seeing him sitting ten feet away. Robby rolled his eyes and put his headphones on. "Gross," he muttered.

He checked his phone again but Kayla still hadn't answered him. Of course, she hadn't. They probably didn't want him either. His mom was planning for him to leave and his dad and Kayla had already left him. Whatever. He didn't need any of them. He turned his music up and leaned back in the chair closing his eyes. But he did check his phone one last time before falling asleep listening to 'Paradise City'. He wished someone would have answered. He had just wanted someone to eat dinner with him.

* * *

Kayla groaned as Johnny's alarm clock went off. "Turn that off," she said, shaking him.

He slapped the clock off, then turned back to her, pulling her against him. "Come here." He kissed her neck.

In the week since they'd talked at the beach, Johnny had made a real effort to drink less and be present more. Kayla had noticed and had responded by trying to be there more, too. She was getting up earlier and spending time with him before work and helping him out at the dojo when she was off. She was also going to bed with him on her nights off which didn't sound like much but was huge for them.

"If you don't have to be a the dojo until three and I work nights, why are you still setting that?" she asked, irritated.

"Because if I sleep all day, then I'll stay up all night and drink," he said. While he hadn't quit drinking, he had considerably slowed down. It was easy during the day when there was something he could do, but at night, especially the nights that Kayla was at work, it was hard not to fall back in the habit of drinking himself to oblivion. "Besides, I'm supposed to be meeting that lady that wants to rent the dojo at night in a little while."

"Oh," Kayla said, sitting up. She leaned over and kissed him. "You want some coffee?"

"I want you," he grinned.

"I didn't realize it had to be one or the other," she laughed.

"Well, one at a time," he replied, pulling her down and kissing her again. "I want you first."

"Maybe I want coffee first," she teased.

"Just shut up and kiss me," he laughed.

Later, when Johnny was in the shower, Kayla checked her phone. If it hadn't been clearly labeled, "Robby", she would have thought it was a wrong number. As it was, she wasn't sure that it wasn't some kind of joke to hurt her.

_Hey Mama,_

_Is Dad okay? He_

_asked me to call him but_

_I've been busy. I just_

_wanted to make sure_

_everything is cool._

  


For one dark moment, she thought that it might have been meant for Shannon with Robby expecting her to be with Johnny but she dismissed that ideal. Robby had never called Shannon 'Mama' having been too old for that childish name when Shannon had come back in his life. She texted back.

**He's fine that I**

**know of, but you**

**should still call him.**

  


She didn't expect to hear anything back, but her phone buzzed again almost instantly.

_Maybe later. Listen,_

_can I come see_

_you at work?_

  


She didn't know what was going on with him, but she wasn't going to refuse him asking to see one of them.

**Of course, you can.**

**But I don't work**

**again until Saturday.**

**You know you are**

**always welcome to**

**come here, though.**

  


_Yeah. Maybe I will._

Well, it wasn't no. She showed Johnny her phone.

"Well, it's not a no," he shrugged, feeling more hopeful than the past had taught him he should feel.

"Right? That's what I said," Kayla smiled. Robby had actually reached out to them and money wasn't the first thing he asked for.

* * *

Kayla was sitting in the dojo office watching Johnny work with Miguel. She smiled as Miguel took Johnny down. He looked so proud of himself and Johnny looked proud of him too. They had moved on to punching when the doorbell rang.

She looked out to see a young girl enter. Kayla couldn't hear what was said, but a minute later, Miguel was dragging Johnny to the office to try and convince him to let the girl join.

"Mrs. Kayla, would you have joined Cobra Kai if you could have when you were young?" Miguel asked.

"Hell, no! But," she cut Johnny off. "You are not Kreese. I might have wanted to join with a Sensei like you. Give her a chance. We need a paying customer. You've only got two more weeks."

Miguel smiled, knowing his battle had been won.

"What are you smiling at?" Johnny asked him. "She's not always going to be on your side."

"Yes, I will," Kayla staged whispered to Miguel. She stuck her tongue out at Johnny.

"Fine." Johnny went over to Aisha and started telling her the 'rules' for being in Cobra Kai with Kayla and Miguel behind him.

Kayla folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes.

"What?" Johnny asked her.

"Nothing," she shrugged. "I just never realized how much of a girl you are. Thanks for telling us how girls act." She held her hand out to Aisha. "I'm Kayla."

"Aisha."

"Welcome to Cobra Kai, Aisha."

"Thank you, ma'am," Aisha smiled. Women like Kayla were never nice to her.

With the way Aisha's head lifted when Johnny called her bullies a bunch of pussies, Kayla knew Johnny had another loyal student. Just having an adult validate her feelings seemed to lift her spirits.

Kayla nodded at Johnny's assessment of Aisha's fighting skills when she pounced on Miguel a few minutes later. "Given the right day, that girl will be downright lethal," she smiled. Before they could say anything else, they were interrupted by loud fighting next door. Johnny went to see what was going on, leaving Miguel to start teaching Aisha their warm-ups. Once he was able to get off the floor anyway.

"Are you a Sensei?" Aisha asked Kayla as she helped Miguel up.

"No. I never learned karate," she admitted. "Girls weren't allowed in competition when I was young. You are the first ever female Cobra Kai and a great choice for the role."

Aisha's smile was even bigger than before. No one ever complimented her, even her own mother would have thrown in something about her weight. "Thank you, Mrs. Kayla."

"You're welcome," she smiled. "Let me get you the application forms. Have your parents fill them out and bring them back tomorrow." She went back to the office.

"That son-of-a-bitch is doubling the rent," Johnny said, coming in the office and shutting the door behind him.

"What?" Kayla asked.

"That's what the yelling was about," he replied, hitting his fist against his other palm. "The landlord was over at the mini-mart. He says he's not getting the 'market value' and if we can't make the rent, he'll find new tenants. Damn!" Why did it seem that every time things were looking up for him that another shitstorm came along to knock him down? There was no way he could pay twice the rent.

"Don't worry," Kayla said, walking over to him and putting her arms around his waist. "We'll think of something. We'll get by."

"Yeah, well," he said, putting his arms around her shoulders and tucking her head under his chin. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting awfully tired of just getting by."

* * *

A few days later, Robby finally got brave enough to go see Johnny and Kayla.  He'd walked up to the dojo, nervous but determined.  That's when he saw his dad hugging some other kid.  That was about right.  His mom didn't have time for him and now his dad had replaced him.  He turned and walked away feeling lower than he had ever felt but by the time he'd gotten back to his apartment, his sadness had turned to anger.  If his Dad could replace him, he could replace his dad.  He didn't need any of them. He had just wanted someone to eat dinner with him.

 


	9. Chapter 9

After Miguel's cafeteria fight, business blew up. They went from two students to forty overnight. Of course, several only came to one lesson but that was to be expected with any business.

Kayla was in the office, filling all the applications when she heard Miguel's smart-ass friend mouth off about the Nazis.

"Oh, shit," she muttered. She stood up and watched through the window as Johnny walked towards the kid. She thought his name was Demetri. She knew how Johnny would have been treated if he had spoken out to Kreese. She'd seen Bobby come home bruised and battered for less. The look on Miguel's face meant he was thinking something similar. Not that Johnny would necessarily hurt Demetri but that he was going to embarrass him. Miguel thought Johnny walked on water. Not to mention that Miguel would never conceive of a teacher like Kreese being allowed to teach and a teacher actually hurting a student was unheard of to him. After blocking two weak punches, Johnny threw Demetri to the ground, stopping just before hitting him. He stood up and spoke to the class before holding out his hand and helping Demetri to his feet. As soon as he was up, Demetri looked around at the students looking at him then left. Somehow, Kayla had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.

She was right when she spent the next hour trying to calm down his mother, finally agreeing to refund Demetri's monthly fee.

"Johnny, you can't treat these kids the way that Kreese treated you," Kayla said when he came into the office after class. "This isn't 1980. You can't be so rough on these kids."

"I didn't treat him like Kreese would have," Johnny scoffed. "If I had been Kreese, that kid would still be spitting out teeth."'

"Well, I just got to spend the past hour trying to convince Demetri's mother that getting thrown down is normal in karate class and that you weren't actually out to murder and humiliate her baby," she replied.

"He made his mommy call you? That kid is a wuss and a smart ass," he said, getting a beer from the fridge.

"Well, yeah," she replied. "But not all these kids are going to be like Miggie and Aisha."

"Then they don't need to be in the class in the first place," he said. "They have to be tough. They aren't going to be able to handle competition if they can't handle class. The guys they'll go up against are going to get in their faces with all kinds of shit. They can't call a time-out because someone hurts their feelings."

"Fine, whatever," she held up her hand. "But if you want this business to work, you are going to play by different rules. Like I said, this isn't the eighties and the parents we are going to have to deal with are going to be concerned with a whole lot more than if their kid stays out of trouble. You are going to have to be nice to these kids and their parents."

* * *

Robby was nervous. He just knew he was going to be found out. Actually, he couldn't believe that Amanda LaRusso had bought his fake transcript and that he was nineteen. He had just taken the job to piss Johnny off, but at the same time, he didn't want to get fired for lying. That would be embarrassing. Besides, he wasn't sure if faking that transcript was entirely legal. He knew passing off a fake ID as his driver's license had to be illegal. Whatever. He just had to keep the job a few weeks. Then he was going to go see Johnny wearing his LaRusso auto shirt.

He straightened his shirt again when he heard a knock on the door.

He opened it to see Trey and Cruz in the hallway.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked, as they came in and started raiding the cabinets. He knew they were going to give him shit when they found out that he had a job and they didn't hold back.

"Whatever guys," he said, finally. "You gotta go. I've got to get to work."

"Yeah," Trey said. "But first, you need to call up that sweet-ass step-mom of yours and convince her to give you some money. We need some weed."

"I'm not calling her for that," Robby said.

"Just tell her you need food or something. You know she'll give it to you. Besides, Cruz wants to see her ass again," Trey laughed.

"That bitch is fine for an older chick," Cruz piped up.

"Don't talk about my Mama that way," Robby snapped.

"Like you care," Trey scoffed. "Get us some money."

"Fine. I'll get it after work," Robby agreed just to get them to leave but their visit had left a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't know when he had made them think they could talk about Kayla like that. At least that's what he told himself for the first half of the day, but by lunch, he was willing to admit that he knew. He hadn't been very nice to her. He was always asking her for money when he knew Johnny or Shannon would say no and setting her up to fight with Johnny when he did go to their house. And he hadn't gone to see her at work like he had asked a week before. He decided that he would go see her that evening. She wasn't the one who had found another kid after all.

* * *

Kayla looked around Ridge Crest and sighed. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten roped into working a day shift on her day off and not just any day shift but volunteer day. That was the day of the month when all the rich women from Encino tried to assuage their guilt at having a good life by spending a few hours with the kids at Ridge Crest.

Today it was a 'Secrets to Self-esteem' tea from the Encino Jaycee's. Ricci was going to owe her big time. Like Christmas off with pay big time. She was in the activity room, watching over the patients in attendance when two well-dressed ladies approached her.

"Excuse me, are you Kayla Lawrence?" the younger one asked.

"Yes, ma'am," she replied cautiously, wondering what her patients had possibly done to these two.

"I thought so," the lady smiled. "I'm Tara Robinson."

"Oh, you're Aisha's mother," she smiled making the connection.

"I've been wanting to meet you," Tara said, holding her hand out. "Aisha talks about you and Sensei Lawrence constantly."

"Aisha's a sweet kid," Kayla said. "We think she's great."

"Amanda," Tara said, bringing her friend into the conversation. "This is Kayla. Her husband is the one teaching Aisha karate."

"Aisha is taking karate?" Amanda asked. "Daniel would have taught her."

Tara shrugged, "We told her that, but she wanted to stay with her friend Miguel. You wouldn't believe the change it's made in her. She's so confident lately."

"Aisha is doing great," Kayla smiled, politely. Aisha's mother was so eager to meet her and Johnny that she hadn't once gotten out of the car when picking Aisha up. She was looking around at her patients, trying to find a way out of the conversation

"Her father wants to come by and watch her train soon," Tara said, catching sight of the director of Ridge Crest. "Excuse me. I need to speak with the Director for a moment about next month's party. It was so nice to meet you finally. Amanda, I'll be right back."

"You, too." Kayla nodded.

Tara left Kayla there with Amanda.

"Wait," Amanda said with a small laugh. "Are you Johnny Lawrence's wife?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kayla replied.

Amanda smiled broadly and held out her hand. "I'm Amanda LaRusso. I think it's about time we met."

Kayla shook her hand.

"Can I just ask you," Amanda continued, "Are you as sick and tired of hearing about my husband as I am of hearing about yours? I mean, they're acting like teenagers."

Kayla lifted her chin proudly. "Well, to be honest, Daniel LaRusso isn't really a large topic of conversation in our house. Well, unless he's purposely going out of his way to dick up our lives again." She paused for a moment. "Now that you mention it, yeah, I'm getting really tired of hearing about Daniel. Oh, and you can tell him that Cobra Kai will make it's rent, you know since he was so concerned about it. However, the lady who owns the nail salon on the corner..., well, I'm sure having to find a new storefront in the middle of her husband's chemo treatments is just the icing on a banner year for her." She stared Amanda down, watching her pale as Kayla's words registered. She forced her most polite expression. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mrs. LaRusso, some of us actually have work to do." She turned and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I changed the car burning scene just a bit.

Kayla was straightening Johnny's tie. She knew he was nervous about the committee meeting, even if he was hiding it behind anger that Cobra Kai had been banned in the first place.

"I forgot how good you look when you're all dressed up," she smiled. "You smell good, too." She wrapped the tie around her hand and pulled him into a kiss.

"Hmm.., maybe I should skip the committee meeting," he said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer as he kissed her hard.

"So, are you nervous about your committee meeting?" Miguel asked, knocking while already bursting in. "Oh, shit, sorry!" He spun around backward.

"You have the worst sense of timing in the world, kid," Johnny said, loosening his grip on Kayla. She pulled away and went to gather some papers from the table while he and Miguel talked about the meeting.

"Correction," she said when he said the briefcase was empty. She handed him a stack of papers.

"What's this?" Johnny asked.

"Applications for all our kids who are ready for competition and a check for their entrance fees," she said. "I filled them out at work last night. We're already behind. So when you ace this and they let us enter, I thought it would look good if we were ready."

"Awesome," Johnny said, looking impressed. He took the papers and stuck them in the briefcase. He kissed her quickly, then looked at Miguel. "Marry a girl like that, Kid." Causing Kayla to blush.

"Johnny, Baby," Kayla said when Miguel left. "Just out of curiosity, if we had a daughter, would you want her date someone who did the things you tell Miguel and Hawk? All that alpha male bullshit?"

He considered the question, then shrugged. "I wouldn't want my daughter dating a pussy bitch who would hurt her."

"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.

"I'm serious," he replied. "Just look at your ex-boyfriends. Pussy number one told the whole school you let him in your pants when you were thirteen, but nearly pissed his when Bobby confronted him about it."

"You mean Bobby and ten other Cobra Kais, including yourself," she replied. "Anyone would have been intimidated."

"No, that started out with just him and Bobby," Johnny replied. "I didn't step in until he took a cheap shot at Bobby."

"I didn't know that," she said.

"Pussy number two left you sitting on the side of the road when you wouldn't put out," he said. "Pussy number three left you alone after Bobby died because he didn't want to get in an 'emotional scene'. I'd rather my daughter dated someone who didn't have anything to prove to others, wouldn't try to force her into a physical situation, and who would be able to be strong when she needed him to be."

"Damn. Why did you have to make sense?" she laughed. "So, if Aisha wanted to date Demetri?"

"First, she wouldn't. Aisha is a Cobra. She wouldn't be attracted to a weak boy. Second, if she asked, I'd tell her he was a wuss and she deserved better," he said.

"These kids have you totally wrapped," she laughed, taking his hand. "Let's go before we're late."

* * *

 

"Kayla, you have a visitor," Ricci said, coming into the nurse's station. "It's your stepson."

"Robby's here?" Kayla questioned. It had been weeks since he'd texted that he was going to come see her. "Okay, I'll take my lunch break and see what he wants." She saw Robby leaning against the front of the building, sliding his skateboard back and forth with one foot. "Hey, Robby, what's up?"

Robby looked up and smiled genuinely. "Hey, Mama. I brought you supper." He held up a take-out bag. "I thought we might eat together."

"Yeah, okay," she agreed, trying to resist the temptation to ask why or why she had suddenly become 'Mama' again after six years. "Let's sit out here." She led him to a small picnic area outside the hospital.

"You bought me a Reese's," Robby said as if that explained everything.

"I did."

"You remembered?"

"I do. I remember lots of things," Kayla replied, treading carefully. She knew Robby well. She knew that he was very much like Johnny, even though he tried to hide it. She knew that if she pushed too hard, he was would retreat and whatever was on his mind, would be hidden for good.

"What Mom said to you that night, that wasn't right," he said. "I'm sorry."

"You aren't responsible for what the adults in your life do, Robby," she said.

"Yeah, but I put you there for that to happen," he said. "I also made you fight with Dad at Christmas. I'm sorry."

"Robby," Kayla shook her head to deny it, but he cut her off.

"I'm a big boy, Mama," he said. "I know when y'all go outside, you are fighting where I can't hear you. You've always done that."

"What is bringing all this up?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"I got this job," he explained. He'd been working at LaRusso's for about two months or so before he finally got up the courage to come say what he needed to say. "And I've been talking to my boss and he was talking about balance in life and knowing who you are. He was talking about seeing where you want to be and making it happen. Then my friends were saying some shit.., sorry, stuff, that I didn't like and I decided I didn't want to be like that. It just felt like I needed to talk to you." He fell silent but Kayla knew he wasn't done so she waited to respond. He looked down, as though his half-eaten hamburger was the most interesting thing in the world. He picked it up to take a bite, then dropped it again. "Mama, why don't you hate me? You are supposed to hate me. This would be easier if you hated me and were mean to me."

Kayla moved to sit beside him. "Your dad and I love you more than anything. I couldn't hate you," She paused, wondering if she should tell the real truth or if she should once again give the whitewashed version. "I tried. I tried to hate you and I tried to hate Johnny but the only person I ended up hating was myself. I did everything I could to hurt him. I went out of my way to make him miserable and I refused to have anything to do with you. I wouldn't even hold you."

"Why?"

"Because I knew that if I held you, I would love you and that it hurt that much more when you were gone," she admitted.

"What happened?"

"Well, you got sick one night," she said. "And your dad didn't know what to do. I had to help. I wasn't going to leave you suffering, no matter how you got here. I had to hold you for hours to help you breathe. I realized then that I only had two choices. I could accept the situation while being true to myself or I could leave but I couldn't keep making everyone miserable because I didn't like the person I was becoming. I was letting pain and bitterness change me into someone I didn't want to be."

"Yeah, I think I know how that feels," Robby nodded. "Why didn't you just leave?"

"Because I held you and I needed you and you needed me and I needed your dad," she said. "It took a while, but I realized that sometimes when life gives you what you want, you shouldn't throw it away just because it didn't come in the package you thought it would."

"Thanks for holding me, Mama," Robby said, hugging her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Kiddo," she said, hugging him tightly. "Okay," she said, wiping her eyes when she let him go. "You're going to make an old woman cry."

"You're not old," he laughed.

"Old enough," she replied. "Hey, Robby. Call Johnny. He really loves you too."

"Yeah, okay," he agreed.

* * *

 

It had been a long night and Kayla was especially eager to get home and tell Johnny about her visit from Robby. Maybe that's why she wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she normally would have when she got out of the Firebird. She reached into the backseat to grab her purse when she was grabbed from behind. She began to struggle and scream but a meaty hand closed over her mouth.

"Shut up," Louie commanded. "We aren't going to hurt you if you shut up."

Two other men came out of the shadows with crowbars and started hitting the car.

Kayla stomped her captor's foot and managed to bite down on his hand.

"Bitch!" He swore, jerking his hand away.

"Johnny!" she screamed. "Johnny!"

Louie hit her hard, clamping his hand back over her mouth. She could taste blood from a busted lip. His hired goons grabbed some gasoline and started dousing the car.

Johnny rushed outside. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" he demanded.

Louie looked scared for a moment, then shoved Kayla roughly to the ground. He claimed Daniel had sent them as he swung the bat he'd been holding across Kayla's chest at the car's taillights.

"John, watch out!" Kayla yelled, seeing that Louie's goons were now more interested in taking him out than the car.

If she had thought Louie looked scared of Johnny before, it was nothing compared to the look on his face when Johnny grabbed him after taking out his goons. He began denying Daniel's involvement in the incident when one of his goons threw a lighter towards the car. Then he gave Daniel up to save himself, involved or not. Johnny shoved him down and went to Kayla, helping her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked, wiping at the blood on her lip with the pad of his thumb. "Did he hurt you?"

She knew he meant by more than just the busted lip and scrapes and bruises from being shoved across the asphalt. "No. He just wanted me to be quiet."

"Sensei!" Miguel and Carmen rushed to the courtyard. "What happened?"

"Call 911," Johnny directed him. "Get the fire department before these jackasses burn the whole building down."

Carmen came over to him and Kayla. "Are you okay?" she asked, reaching out and examining a large scrape on Kayla's arm.

Kayla nodded. "Johnny, you have to stop this," she said.

"I know," he agreed. "As soon as you are okay."

"I'm fine," she said. "Just go and stop this because I won't live like this."

"We'll take good care of her," Carmen assured him, putting her arm around Kayla protectively.

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked, cradling her face in his hands.

"Fire and police are on the way," Miguel reported, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Yes, go!" Kayla urged.

Johnny kissed her forehead before taking off on the redhead's motorcycle.

"Let's get you inside and cleaned up," Carmen said, leading Kayla towards the Diaz's apartment.

Rosa met them at the door, fussing about Kayla in Spanish, defensively putting her arm around Kayla from the other side. "Assholes," she muttered in English. The word she had picked up from Johnny seeming fitting to the situation.

"I'll stay out here until the police get here," Miguel said, glaring at the three men on the ground.

"We got this," another neighbor who lived upstairs told Carmen. He and his partner had come out to see what the noise was and was now standing protectively behind Miguel. Carmen hadn't realized how much her son had endeared himself to the neighbors before. Not just the Lawrence's but seemingly the whole complex who were now filing out of their homes to see what was happening.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I changed the Johnny/Daniel confrontation scene a bit to fit this story.

Johnny wasn't sure how long he stood outside of LaRusso's house, trying to get his temper in check. He wanted to kill Daniel. He didn't know why Daniel couldn't just let the past go. Getting his rent raised was one thing. Trying to keep his kids out of the All Valley was another, but this shit? This shit was another dimension of fucked up. He had tried to make it right. Just stay away from Daniel and everything would work out. But to send a bunch of goons to his house? Why?

He started towards the house when he saw Daniel and was filled with rage again. He clenched his fist by his side, resisting the urge to go drag Daniel outside and beat the shit out of him right then.

When Daniel saw him, he rushed outside and demanded to know what Johnny was doing at this house.

"Oh that's rich," Johnny said. "At least I am man enough to come myself and not send a bunch of pussy bitches to burn your neighborhood down."

"What are you talking about?"

"Like you don't know," He replied. "Your Hell's Angels wannabes flipped on you right away. Real tough group."

Daniel looked past him at the bike and rolled his eyes. "That was Louie. My cousin. I don't know what happened, but it was all him."

"Yeah, that's the bastard that hit my wife," Johnny snarled. He knew he had seen the man before. "He's lucky I didn't kill him."

"He hit Kayla? Is she okay?" Daniel looked shocked.

"Like you give a damn," Johnny replied. "They could have burned the whole damn building down, setting my car on fire in the courtyard like that. How many people would that have hurt?"

"Look, I had nothing to do with any of it," Daniel replied. "I'm sorry Kayla got hurt. Put Louie in jail if you want, but you need to leave my property."

"I did."

"Good, then it's over," Daniel said.

"It's not over because you won't let it be over. You still don't know how to let well enough alone," Johnny said, getting into a fighting stance. "But I'm going to end it. You got the rent at the dojo raised, fine. You tried to block my kids for the tournament, fine. Whatever. You're a dick, I already knew that. But this? I won't let this stand. I _will not_ let my wife be terrorized."

"Okay, that's it," Daniel said, pulling his phone out. "I'm calling the cops."

"You scared?" he grabbed for the phone but Daniel swung it away from him, spinning into a fighting stance himself. Johnny would have hit him if his kid hadn't run out right then followed shortly by Daniel's wife.

"What is going on?" Amanda asked.

"Just take Anthony back inside while I deal with _Sensei_ Lawrence," Daniel said.

"Yeah, no," Amanda said, then continued on about 'grown men kicking each other into a pool' and solving the problem a better way.

"What do you want to do?" Daniel asked Johnny.

"They came to my house. He hit my wife. What would you want to do?" Johnny growled.

"Is he talking about Louie?" Amanda asks.

"He says that Louie and his biker friends attacked Kayla and burned his car," Daniel said, his tone belying that he clearly didn't believe the story.

"And that would be why Lucille just called here and wanted you to go bail Louie out of jail," Amanda said, folding her arms over her chest.

"What?" Daniel dropped his defensive stance and looked at Amanda.

"He's telling the truth," she said. "Louie is in jail for assault and arson. Your mom wants you to save his ass again."

"Damn it, Louie!" Daniel swore. He looked at Johnny. "Oh, stop. I'm not going to fight you so you can either jump me, or you can come in the house and talk about it."

Thirty minutes later Daniel was arguing with Amanda about how to solve the problem, especially with the added information about Sam's hit and run.

"Why am I the one who has to be the bigger person?" he asked.

"Because it was your cousin who caused this latest mess," she said. "You should have shut him down when he started talking about doing something at dinner two days ago."

"What do you want me to do, Amanda?" he snapped.

She looked at Johnny still sitting at the table, then back at Daniel. "Here's what I want you to do," she said, folding her arms over her chest. "I want you to put yourself in his shoes. I want you to think, for just a minute, how you would feel if some borderline criminals came to our house, roughed me up, attacked you, destroyed something Mr. Miyagi left you and told you that Johnny sent them to do it?"

The look that crossed his face and the way his fists clenched at his sides showed that she had gotten to him. "Now, I want you to take a minute and think about what it would take for Johnny to make that right to you. Whatever that would be is what you need to do to make it right. To end this stupid feud and get him out of our lives forever and you to get out of his. You need to end this because I want my husband back. I know you didn't have anything to do with what Louie did, but he doesn't, and quite frankly, the way you've been acting lately, from his view, it's not unimaginable that you could have and that's why you have to be the bigger person."

Daniel looked at Johnny, taking a minute to really think about the latest situation. "You're right," he agreed with a sigh. He kissed her. "I'll take care of it. I will."

* * *

 

So there was no way to really make up for what Louie had done. Daniel knew that but he could replace Johnny's car. Well, after what Kayla had told him, he knew he couldn't even really do that, his mind briefly flashing back to his 1948 Ford and how he would feel if it was destroyed and he didn't even drive it often anymore, just if he could convince Amanda to go to a car show with him. He could give him something to drive. That was better than nothing. He didn't have to like it though. He did feel bad about the whole thing but he still didn't like Johnny.

That was how he came to be driving Johnny to his dealership. It was a practice in restraint not to start another fight with the asshole in the twenty-minute drive.

He chuckled when Johnny's phone rang. "Seriously, John? How old is that thing?"

"Screw you," Johnny replied before answering. "Hello? Hey, Diaz." He listened for a moment. "No, that's okay."

Daniel tried to appear that he wasn't listening to the conversation.

"Yeah, I appreciate that but those guys aren't coming back," Johnny said. "Kay will be fine. She's just going to go to sleep. I'll be back soon and your Yaya is staying with her. You need to go take your test." He paused. "No, no. That's not necessary. Go to school." He stopped to listen, finally cutting in. "Are you questioning what I say, Diaz?"

"No, Sensei," Miguel said firmly.

Even Daniel could hear the respect in the boy's voice through the phone.

"Alright," Johnny replied. "And listen, I don't want you going to the dojo today...I know you have a competition tomorrow, that's why you need to take the day off and rest. You, Robinson, and Hawk. Go have some fun. Take that little guy with you..., No, not Virgin, the other one..., Bert, yeah him. Y'all go have some fun and then get to bed early. I'll see you in the morning...Oh, and thanks for your help, Diaz. Good luck." He hung up and looked at Daniel who was looking at him with surprise. "What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged but couldn't reconcile what he had heard with what he knew. Was Johnny Lawrence encouraging the kid to go to school and not to the dojo? Also, he had noticed the way that Johnny had shown the boy enough respect to not point out that he wouldn't be able to take on Louie and his pals even if they did come back. But then he'd also called another of his students 'Virgin' and couldn't remember the name of another.

"Are your students ready for the All-Valley?" he asked.

"They're going to kick ass," Johnny replied with a proud smile.

Daniel just shook his head. Was it possible that Johnny was actually taking being a Sensei seriously?

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Is this Kayla Lawrence?"

"Yes," Kayla said, apprehensively.

"Hi, Kayla, it's Amanda LaRusso."

"How did you get this number?" She asked.

"From Tara Robinson," Amanda admitted. "I heard what happened with Louie and first, I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine," Kayla said.

"Good. Louie is a real son of a bitch," Amanda replied. "But he's family so what can you do?"

"Throw his ass in jail," Kayla snapped.

"Thank God you did. I swear if Danny bails him out, he'd better be prepared to live with him, because I'm not having it," Amanda replied. "I am so tired of Louie. When I see him, I'm going to kick him in the balls."

Kayla laughed at the image of the rich, polished, society woman she met at the tea talking about kicking someone in the balls.

"Sorry," Amanda said. Kayla could almost hear her cringing. "I was raised by a single dad in his mechanic shop. It still comes out sometimes."

"No," Kayla laughed. "I agree with the sentiment."

"The second reason I called you is, do you have any idea where our husbands might be?"

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked.

"Well, Daniel wanted to replace Johnny's car," Amanda explained. "I mean, that was the least he could do, so they went to the dealership and our receptionist says they went out for a test drive three hours ago and still aren't back and Daniel isn't answering his phone."

"Oh," Kayla replied concerned. This was either really good or really bad. "No. Not really."

"Can we meet for lunch to talk?" Amanda asked.

"Um.., okay," Kayla agreed.

"Oh, shoot. I can't," Amanda said, suddenly. "I have to stay here. I grounded my daughter and she isn't abiding it well. Could you come to my house?"

"I guess," she replied.

"Great. I'll pay for an Uber," Amanda said.

"I can take care of myself," Kayla snapped, any goodwill found in hating Louie gone in the implication that Kayla couldn't get herself to Encino. "Just give me your address."

* * *

 

Daniel and Johnny had moved from the bar to a table somewhere around round four.

"Why aren't you having your students practice today?" Daniel asked.

Johnny shrugged. "Even Kreese gave us the night before the competition off. I was going to have them practice this morning but the older ones have some test to take."

"PSAT's," Daniel said. "My daughter took it too."

"Yeah, that." Johnny couldn't help but wonder if Daniel knew that his daughter was dating Miguel. He didn't seem to know anything else about her. "Anyway," he shrugged. "They need a break and they needed to do that school thing."

"Wow. Johnny Lawrence cares about his students' schooling," Daniel quipped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny snapped.

Daniel shrugged. "I just figured you would be more concerned with karate than them going to school."

"Yeah. Because that model worked so well in my life," he shrugged. "That damn school. Kreese had the principal in his back pocket. It didn't matter what we did, we passed so we could keep competing. They didn't try to teach us a damn thing but because of karate, they kept passing us. Hell, Tommy was barely literate when we graduated. Bobby was the only one of us who even took school halfway seriously and I'm pretty sure that's just because he was the only one who had a decent father who made him study." Now he knew he was drunk. He was spilling his guts to Daniel LaRusso.

"I knew the Cobra Kais got special treatment," Daniel chuckled.

"Real special," he scoffed. "Didn't care that they were ruining the rest of our lives as long as we kept bring back trophies."

"I never knew that," Daniel said. "Again, it just always looked like you were living a charmed life."

"Yeah, well, it's really charmed now, isn't it?" he finished off his beer and signaled for another.

"What happened to Bobby?" Daniel asked. "Kayla said he'd passed on."

"He was in a wreck. SUV versus Harley. He never stood a chance," Johnny said.

"I hate to hear that," Daniel said, sincerely. "He was a decent guy."

"High praise," Johnny chuckled. "He was the best of us." He took another drink. "Anyway, it was a long time ago. Kay and I have been together twenty-five years now."

"How did that happen?"

Johnny shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, she'd always just been this little girl hanging around. I never thought about her much. But when I saw her at Bobby's funeral..., well, she wasn't a little girl anymore. We both missed Bobby so much, we just kind of drifted to each other. What about you?" he asked changing the subject. "When did you meet your wife?"

Daniel smiled. "I worked my way through college in her Dad's mechanic's shop. I always thought she was a spoiled, stuck-up brat until one day she showed me up on a repair. She ruined her shirt but totally handed me my ass about making assumptions. She told me, 'Mr. LaRusso, I've been in this shop since I was in diapers. Just because I choose not to get my hands dirty doesn't mean I can't. I've forgotten more about car repair than you'll ever know so the next time I tell you to fix something, you do it, or if you can't handle that, pack your shit and find a new shop to work in.' Man, I was completely mortified and impressed as hell at the same time. I think I asked her out that night." He picked up his drink. "I love setting her on our mechanics now."

Johnny laughed. "Yeah, she doesn't seem like the type that would take much shit."

"You have no idea," Daniel laughed. "I still hear about that damn shirt. Kayla is pretty strong, too. She smack twice in the same conversation when I questioned your motives."

"Yeah," Johnny chuckled, peeling the label on his beer bottle. "She's a better woman than I'll ever deserve." He grinned and changed the subject expecting Daniel to snap. "You know your cousin is a pussy, right?"

Daniel laughed and nodded. "Louie has always been a pussy. When we were kids and we'd fight, he'd wail on me because I was smaller than him, but if I ever hit him, he'd run tell our grandma and get me in trouble. I kicked his ass after I learned karate. He never messed with me again." He took a sip of his martini. "I never told Mr. Miyagi about that particular fight. It wasn't exactly a defensive use of karate."

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I just wondered how the show would be if Johnny was married too. This story started from that plot bunny.
> 
> A/N: I own nothing. Also, I've only seen the original and Cobra Kai, so things that happened in Part 2 and 3 won't be in this fic unless shown in Cobra Kai. Also, I tried to keep this Teen rated, but if you think I need to make it mature, just let me know.

"Hi, thank you so much for coming," Amanda said, welcoming Kayla into her home.

"No problem," Kayla replied.

"Let's go in the kitchen," Amanda said. "Do you want a tea or coffee?"

"No thanks," Kayla replied, tensely.

"So," Amanda turned to face her. "Let me just say that so far we are two for two on me putting my foot in my mouth when talking to you. I just want to say, I don't mean any offense. I'm just tired of this whatever it is between Daniel and Johnny. I mean, how are they still this caught up on a karate tournament from thirty-four years ago?"

"What makes you think they are fighting over a tournament?" Kayla asked, taking a seat at the bar.

"What else would it be?" Amanda replied.

"Lots of things all wrapped around that tournament, but none actually having to do with Daniel beating Johnny on the mat," Kayla said.

"Like what?" Amanda was skeptical.

"First of all, Ali Mills."

"Daniel's high school girlfriend?"

Kayla nodded. "And Johnny's."

"I've heard this story," Amanda interrupted, holding up her hand. Rehashing the Ali thing was worse than having to hear about Daniel being pushed down a hill again. She really didn't want to hear about her again. Not that Daniel had ever made her feel jealous about Ali. Hell, there had been plenty of girls between her and Amanda, but it seemed like Ali was the only one Lucille ever liked, including Amanda. Ali the beautiful. Ali the doctor. Ali the classy. Ali the lady. Ali never had grease under her fingernails. Ali never had bruised knuckles from helping her dad change a water pump. Ali didn't feel more comfortable in coveralls in the mechanic bays than in Louie Vuitton's on the sales floor. Ali did not swear. Ali did not threaten to kick Louie in the balls. She was even certain that Ali would never feed her family store bought pasta salad either. Ali was perfect, after all. She picked at her now perfectly manicured nails. "They were broken up."

"Yeah," Kayla nodded. "But that was like, a weekly thing with them. He didn't have any reason to think she was any more serious that time that the thirty times before. I'm not excusing Johnny. I was there. He was being a jerk. He shouldn't have thrown her radio, but I can also see why he saw Daniel as interjecting himself into a fight he didn't belong in. And Daniel did sucker punch him. That said, Johnny shouldn't have hit him as hard as he did."

"That doesn't bother you?" Amanda asked. "That your husband is still fighting over a girl he broke up with over thirty years ago? Because if that's true it bothers the hell out of me."

"They're not still fighting over Ali, she was just the catalyst." Kayla shrugged. "Besides, it's not like Ali and I was ever competition. I was still a kid when he was dating Ali. I mean, at 51 and 47, or even 22 and 26, four years isn't a big deal, but at 17 and 13, it's jail bait. I liked Ali back then. I guess if she was still here and he saw her often, it might be a bigger deal, but as it is, I trust Johnny. Daniel wasn't a saint either. He turned a water hose on Johnny when they hadn't even spoken to each other in months. Then after Kreese gave Johnny and Bobby and the others orders to leave Daniel alone, he went out of his way to try to instigate fights with them."

"But that still just high school bullshit. They're grown men," Amanda said. "They need to let it go."

"That's easier said than done," she shrugged. "Especially after the Mike Barnes thing, I get it, but that had nothing to do with Johnny. Johnny wasn't even in Encino when that all happened. But given all the rumors that went around about that competition, I can understand why Daniel wouldn't want Cobra Kai reinstated. However, that wasn't Johnny or his students. I don't see why Daniel is insisting on punishing Johnny for what Kreese, Barnes, and Silver did. It was clear at the committee meeting that John had no idea about any of that. I had forgotten too, and my friend was dating Mike at the time."

"I think it's the name that's setting him off," Amanda said, thoughtfully. "Or the mantra. 'Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.' Who wants kids to think that way?"

"It's just a mantra. Besides, if Johnny hadn't shown Daniel mercy in their tournament fight, Daniel wouldn't be able to walk now," Kayla replied. "My brother told me that Kreese order both him and Johnny to disable Daniel. You can't understand the hold Kreese had on those boys. I was there and I still don't understand it. But Bobby also told me that when Kreese demanded that Johnny fight an injured Daniel, Johnny started pulling his kicks. If he'd kicked Daniel's injured leg with full force, Daniel would have probably never regained full use of his leg and Johnny knew it. He didn't do it because he just couldn't see a high school karate tournament being important enough to cripple someone for life over. It was that mercy that caused him to lose the match and subsequently, his family in the Cobra Kai. Kreese was like a father to him and he choked him for losing."

"Why doesn't Johnny just tell Daniel that?"

Kayla shrugged. "Why doesn't Daniel tell Johnny what went on with Silver and Barnes? Because without that information, it just looks like Daniel is once again being an asshole when Johnny can't fight back."

Amanda nodded but was silent. Maybe where ever Johnny and Daniel had disappeared off to, they were talking these things out. Unlikely, but hey, if they didn't kill each other anything was possible.

"We need to make them talk to each other," Kayla said.

"But we have to find them first," Amanda smiled. Before she could say more, the doorbell rang.

Kayla tried to call Johnny while she waited but his phone was off. That was normal though. He probably forgot to charge it.

She was putting her phone away when Amanda led Robby into the dining room.

Robby's eyes widen as he saw Kayla sitting at the bar. Before either could speak, Anthony called from another room and Amanda excused herself to see to him.

Kayla stared back at Robby for a long moment, trying to decide what to say. Finally, she shook her head and said, "Busted."

"Yeah," he laughed, nervously.

"So, this is the job and Daniel LaRusso is your boss?" He said he was working at a car lot.

He nodded and looked down.

"Do they know who you are?" she asked.

He shook his head and said, softly, "No, ma'am."

"Okay, next question," she said, taking a deep breath. "Have you lost your mind? Your Dad is going to have a stroke! And now I know! Are you trying to kill me?"

"You weren't supposed to be here," he said, lamely.

"You shouldn't be here either, Robby. What the hell? What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm doing what I want," he snapped. "And don't act like you care. Dad replaced me so I replaced him. I don't need him. Or you. Just stay out of my life. You're not my mother!" As soon as the words left his lips, Robby regretted them. The hurt look on Kayla's face made him forget the anger he was feeling at being both found out and called out for what he was doing.

"Mama, I'm sorry," he said, stepping towards her, but it was too late.

"No, Robby, you're right. I'm not your mother and I shouldn't be here. Please tell Mrs. LaRusso that something came up and I'll text her." She grabbed her purse and stood up.

"Mama... Mama!" Robby tried to stop her, but she stepped around him and walked out the door. She didn't stop until she reached the bus stop at the corner of their block. She pulled out her phone and called a cab before letting herself break down.

"Shit," Robby muttered under his breath. Now even Mama hated him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review!

**Author's Note:**

> Please like and review. Let me know what you'd like to see and I may work it in!


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